Vending machine



Nov. 25, 1924.v 1 0. MARKEL VENDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 12, 1 919 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VE N 70/? ORV/ALE MA FPKEL A TTOFP/VE Y5 Nov'. 25, 1924.1 1,516,677

0. MARKEL.

VENDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 12. 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 o. MARKEL VENDING MACHINE Filed De c. l2 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 B Y fl mm- HTTOFPNEYQ O. MARKEL VENDING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 12 1919 INVENTOP-: ORV/LLfi MAR/ EL Patented Nov. 25, 1924.

ORVILLE MARKEL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

VENDING MACHINE.

Application filed December 12, 1919.

1 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ORVILLE MARKEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Vending Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formio ing a :part of this specification.

My invention relates to vending machines, more particularly to vending. machines rendered operative or controlled by the introduction of a suitable coin or coins into the 5 mechanism and still more particularly to prepayment vending machines particularly adapted for selling newspapers, pamphlets, magazines and other similar articles.

Heretofore, in selling newspapers for exso ample, it has been customary to station a newsboy or other attendant at each of the various selling points. While this method has proven expensive and unreliable it has been preferable to the various vending machines suggested heretofore in the art for this purpose. These prior art machines have not come into general use on account of their many inherent difiiculties. For example, spring motors and Various spring controlled ejecting devices have been common in the prior art. Furthermore, I have observed that no few of the prior art devices stack the papers in the machine and attempt to eject the lowermost paper upon each operation.

It is the aim of my invention to provide a novel, simple and sound vending machine which may be cheaply manufactured, economically maintained and is simple, positive and reliable in operation.

Further aims of my invention are the provision of an improved ejecting mechanism, the provision of improved means whereby the machine is rendered operative or con- 45 trolled by the introduction of a suitable coin or coins into the mechanism and the provision of novel means for preventing the introduction of a coin or coins when the machine is empty, whereby the machine cannot be operated.

In accordance with the teachings of my invention the papers are stacked upon a vertically movable shelf provided in the machine. Upon the introduction of a suitable coin or coins into the mechanism the oper- Serial No. 344,454.

ating lever of the machine is renderedoper tive, whereupon partial rotationof this lever in one direction lifts the uppermost .paper into co-operation with the ejecting mechanism and into line with a suitabledischarge opening and causes operation ofthe ejecting mechanism whereby the uppermost paper is ejected from the machine, partial rotation in the opposite direction thereafter discharging the coins or tokens carried by the operating mechanism into the coinboxof the machine, whereupon the machine is again inoperative until another token or tokens are inserted. When the last of the papers is moved into line with the discharge opening of the machine the coin admission opening is sealed against the further introductionof coins into the machine.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings in which I have described and illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an illustrative embodiment of my invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional View taken substantially on the line 3-3 of F igure'Q;

Figure i is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the line 4% of F igure 3;

Figure 5 is an axial section through the coin connected operating disks of the ma chine;

Figure 6 is an end view taken from the right in Figure 5;

Figure 7 is an enlarged front elevation of the latch mechanism for the door of the machine; and

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Figure 7.

Referring to the drawings, the casing or housing 1, the particular shape and construction of which will vary according to the particular articles to be vended. comprises end castings 2 and 3 having a bottom or base plate bolted or otherwise suitably mounted therebetween. The casing l is supported in an upright position by means of a pedestal comprising an upright post 5 mounted at its upper end in the base plate 4. and at its lower end in a base member 6. The sheet metal back wall 7 of the casingextends about the upper edges of the end castings 2 and 3 as clearly shown in Figure 3 and defines the upper edge of a discharge opening 8 through which the papers in this particular instance are dispensed or ejected.

The lower edge of the opening 8 is defined by the upper edge of a vertically slidable door 9. The door 9 is provided substantially intermediate its width and adjacent its lower edge with a spring hasp plate 10 riveted or otherwise suitably secured thereto. The hasp plate 10 is provided with a pair of lugs 11 (Figures 3, 7 and 8) which lugs 11, when the door is in the raised or closed position as shown in Figure 1, project through suitable slots 12 provided in the door 9 and into co-operation with the upper surface of the bottom or base plate 1 of the machine. Downward movement or opening of the door is thus effectively prevented. The spring hasp plate 10 co-operates with a staple 14 carried by the door 9 and a suit able padlock 15 (Figure 7) serves to lock the same in the position shown.

Upon removing the padlock 15 the spring hasp plate 10 is sprung out to withdraw the lugs 11 from their engagement with the base plate 4. The door 9, the opposite edges of which ride in grooves 16 provided in the end castings 2 and 3 respectively may then he moved downwardly to allow of the introduction of newspapers or other similar articles into the machine. In the case of newspapers the same are stacked upon a platform or vertically movable shelf 17.

The vertically movable platform or shelf 17 is carried by a block 18, the opposite ends of which block are mounted upon upright threaded or wormed posts 19 and 20. The posts 19 and 20 are arranged in vertical depressions 21 and 22 provided in the inner faces of the end castings 2 and 3 respectively, as shown in Figure 1 and their opposite ends bear in the bottom walls of these depressions and in the web portions 2 1 provided adjacent the upper ends of the depressions as clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Pinions 25 fixed upon the upper ends of the threaded or wormed posts 19 and 20 mesh with bevel gears 26 fixed upon the horizontal operating shaft 27 of the ma-- chine. One end of the operating shaft 27 bears in the end casting 2 while the opposite end of this shaft projects through a chamber 28, which chamber 28 communicates with a suitable coin boX 30, as clearly shown in Figure 1. The coin box 30 is provided with a suitable door 31, having a lock 32 whereby access is gained to the box for removing the coins deposited therein as will be hereinafter described. That end of the operating shaft 27 projecting through the chamber 28 bears in an operating disk 32, which operating disk 32 is loosely mounted thereupon and provided with a projecting hublike portion 33 which hub-like portion 33 bears in and projects through the end wall 3 1 of the chamber 28.

The hub 60 of the operating lever 68 is sleeved and fixed through suitable radial pins 61 upon this outwardly projecting end of the hub-like portion 33 of the operating disk 32.

A second operating disk 36 keyed, splined or otherwise fixed upon the shaft 27 adjacent the disk 32 is provided in this particular instance with four radial grooves 37. A segmental flange 38 projects inwardly from the periphery of the disk 32. This segmental fiange 38 embraces the periphery of the disk 36 and is provided with radial slots extending therethrough, which radial slots 35 register with the grooves 37 when the operating handle 68 of the machine is in normal position. The coin or coins are introduced through the radial slots 35 in the segmental flange 38 of the disk 32 and into the radial groove 37 by way of a coin chute 10 mounted upon and projecting from the upper wall of the chamber 28.

A sprocket wheel 12 is loosely mounted upon the operating shaft 27 intermediate its ends and carries a spring pressed pawl 13, which pawl 13 co-operates with a ratchet wheel 1 i splined or otherwise suitably fixed upon the shaft 27. A spring 15 maintains the pawl 13 in engagement with the ratchet wheel 44; as clearly shown in Figure 3. It will now be apparent that this pawl and ratchet connection between the sprocket wheel 12 and the operating shaft 27 of the machine allows the shaft 27 to be rotated in a clockwise direction (Figure 3) independent of the sprocket wheel 42 and causes the sprocket wheel 42 to be rotated upon rotation of the shaft 27 in acounter clockwise direction.

The sprocket wheel 12 drives a shaft through a chain and sprocket wheel 56 fixed upon the shaft 50, an idler sprocket 57 being mounted through a suitable bracket member 58 upon the rear wall of the machine. The shaft 50 is arranged adjacent the discharge opening 8 of the machine with its axis parallel with the axis of rotation of the operating shaft 27. Newspaper dispensing wheels 51 and 52 are fixed upon the shaft 50 adjacent the opposite ends of the discharge opening 8. Each of the paper dispensing wheels 51 and 52 which are mounted for rotation with the shaft 50 carriesa plurality of radial pins 53 adjust-ably secured in the rims thereof as by means of suitable set screws or the like.

The operation of the mechanism thus far described is as follows: In this particular instance the machine is rendered operative by the introduction of two pennies through the coin chute 10 of the machine through the radial slot extending through the Kil till

segmental flange 38 of the operating disk 32 and into the registering radial groove 37 provided in. the outer face of the disk 36. The outermost of the two pennies thus introduced in effect forms a key and engaging in the groove 37 and in the slot 35, connects the disks 32 and 36 so that rotation of one causes rotation of the other. It will now be apparent that the disk 32 being loosely mounted upon the shaft 27 but connected to rotate with the operating lever 68 and the disk 36 being splined upon the shaft 27 that upon the introduction of the proper token or tokens necessary to connect these two operating disks that rotation of the lever 68 will rotate the shaft 27. The width. of the slot 3 5 and the width and depth of the grooves 37 determine the size and number of tokens necessary to operatively connect the disks 32 and 36.

The operating lever 68 is then partially rotated in a counter clockwise direction, rotating the shaft 27 through the interconnected disks 32 and Rotation of the shaft 27 in a counter clockwise direction (Figure 3) not only causes rotation of the threaded or wormed posts 19 and 20 through the bevel gears 26 and cooperatingv pinions whereupon the block 18 is threaded up wardly upon the posts 19 and 20 sufficiently to bring the uppermost paper carried by the shelf or platform 17 into engagement with the radial pins of the ejecting wheels 51 and into line with the discharge opening 8 of the machine, but at the same time drives the dispensing or ejecting wheels 51 and 52 through the sprocket 42 and chain 55, moving the uppermost paper out through the discharge opening 8 of the machine.

Rotation of the ejecting wheels 51 need not be sufficient to move the paper entirely out of the machine. Only partial ejection of the paper in this manner is necessary. The pawl and ratchet connections 43 and at allowing rotation of the sprocket l2 in a counter clockwise direction independent of the shaft 2 allows the customer to then grasp the paper and withdraw the same from the machine.

Upon rotation of the lever 68 in a counter clockwise direction, whereupon a paper is ejected through the discharge opening 8 and another paper moved into position for ejection, the lever 68 is rotated in a clockwise direction (in the particular arrangement shown the lever 68 is rotated substantially 90 in a counter clockwise direction and then substantially 180 in a clockwise direction) moving the coin carrying groove 37 of the disc 36 into line with the coin box shown in Figure 1, whereupon the coins or tokens are discharged from the operating mechanism into the coin boX.

lVhen the last paper in the machine is raised into engagement with the radial pins 53 of the ejecting wheels 51 and into alignment with the discharge opening 8, the shelfv or platform 17 is timed to engage an adjusted set screw 76 mounted in-the Weighted arm 77 of a. bell crank lever 78. This engagement with the set screw 76 forces the bell crank lever about its pivot 79 and moves a link 81) connected with the upwardly extending arm of the lever 78 across the slot provided in the coin chute of the machine. Thus the coin chute 40 is barred against the further introduction of coins until the shelf or platform 17 is lowered, which is done atthe time the paper supply is replenished.

Due to the little attention required, one person can easily attend a number of machines of this type even the persons delivering the papers to the various selling points could stack them into the machine if so desired. In any event, the person anthorized to refill the machine is provided with a reversing lever 85 shown in dotted lines in Figure 2. The hub 86 of this lever enters the hub-like portion of the disk 32 and is slotted as shown at 87 for engagement with a pin 88 extending diametrically through the operating shaft 27 of the machine. The lever 85 is then rotated in a clockwise direction until the block. 18 and shelf 17 carried thereby have been lowered to the position shown in Figures 2 and 3. The padlock 15 (Figure 1) is then removed, the. door 9 moved downwardly, and a new supply of papers stacked upon the platform or vertically movable shelf 17 as hereinbefore pointed out, whereupon the door is again closed and the lock replaced. (if course, the door 9 may be locked in any other suitable manner.

It will now be apparent that I have provided a novel, simple and improved vending machine which may be cheaply manufactured and economically maintained, and is simple, positive and reliable in operation.

While I have described my invention in connection with the details of a particular embodiment, I do not intend thereby to limit the invention to such details, as I am aware and contemplate that modifications and changes may be made without departing from the invention which is set out in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a vending machine, an operating shaft, a pair of revolvable screws, a carrier mount-ed upon said revolvable screws for movement into article discharging position, a pair of bevel gears fixed upon said operating shaft. cooperating bevel pinions fixed upon said revolvable screws, an article discharging shaft and driving connections between said operating shaft and said article disclnirging shaft, said driving connections permitting rotation of the operating shaft in one direction independent of the article discharging shaft, rotation of the operating shaft in the opposite direction driving said article discharging shaft.

2. In a vending machine, an operating shaft, a revolvable screw, an article carrier mounted upon said revolvable screw, article discharging means, drive means between the operating shaft and the revolvable screw for moving an article into COOPQtItlOIl with said discharging means upon rotation of said shaft in one direction, and a driving connection between said operating shaft and the discharging means for actuating said discharging means upon rotation of said operating shaft in the opposite direction.

3. In a newspaper vending machine, a casing for the papers to be vended, said casing having an outlet, means for moving the papers into position for discharge through said outlet, means for discharging the papers and a driving connection between said paper i ositioning and said paper dis- =charging means, said driving connection permitting actuation of the discharging means independently of the positioning means to permit complete withdrawal of the papers without actuating the positioning means.

t. In a newspaper vending machine, a casing having an outlet, a carrier in said casing, means for moving said carrier towards said outlet, means for discharging the papers through said outlet upon arrangen'ient in discharging position by said carrier, a driving connection between said carrier moving and said paper discharging means for simultaneously moving the papers toward the outlet and discharging a paper therethrough, said driving connection permitting actuation of said discharging means independently of the means for moving the papers into position for discharge to permit complete withdrawal of the paper without actuating said positioning means.

5. In a newspaper vending machine, a casing having an outlet, a paper carrying elevator arranged in said casing, means for moving the elevator toward the outlet to position the papers successively in position for discharge therethrough, means for discharging the papers through said outlet, and a driving connection between said elevator moving and said paper discharging means, said driving connection permitting actuation of the discharging means independently of the elevator moving means to permit complete withdrawal of the papers without moving the elevator.

6. In a newspaper vending machine, a casing having an outlet, a paper carrier in said casing, a screw having driving connection with said carrier, paper discharging means adjacent the Outlet, means for rotating said screw to move the carrier toward the outlet, a driving connection between said screw rotating means and said discharging means for discharging a paper through the outlet simultaneously with the movement of the carrier toward same, said driving connection permitting actuation of the discharging means independently of the carrier actuating screw to permit complete withdrawal of the paper without moving the carrier.

7. In a newspaper vending machine, a casing having an outlet, a carrier for supporting a stack of papers and moving same toward said outlet, a dispensing wheel disposed adjacent the outlet and in the path of movement of the papers, said wheel having projecting prongs for piercing engagement with the forward edges of the upper surfaces of the papers as same are moved toward said opening by the carrier and being operable to move the papers from the carrier and deliver same directly through said outlet by means of said piercing engagement.

8. In a. newspaper vending machine, a casing having an outlet, a carrier for supporting a stack of papers and moving same toward said outlet, a dispensing wheel disposed adjacent the outlet and in the path of movement of the papers, said wheel having projecting prongs for piercing engagement with the forward edges of the. upper surfaces of the papers as same are moved toward said opening by the carrier and being operable to move the papers from the carrier and deliver same directly through said outlet by means of said piercing engagement and common means for moving the carrier toward the outlet and simultaneously actuating said dispensing wheel.

9. In a newspaper vending machine, a casing having an outlet, a carrier for supporting a stack of papers and moving same toward said outlet, a dispensing wheel disposed adjacent the outlet and in the path of movement of the papers, said wheel having projecting prongs for piercing engagement with the upper surfaces of the papers as same are moved toward said outlet by the carrier and being operable to remove the papers from the carrier and deliver same directly through said outlet by means of said piercing engagement, means for moving the carrier toward the outlet, and a driving connection between said carrier moving means and said dispensing wheel, said driving connection permitting relative actuaton between the dispensing wheel and the carrier.

10. In a newspaper vending machine, a casing having an outlet, a carrier for sup porting a stack of papers and moving same toward said outlet, a dispensing Wheel disposed adjacent the outlet and in the path of movement of the papers, said wheel having projecting prongs for engaging the papers as same are moved toward said outlet by the carrier and being operable to remove the papers from the carrier and deliver same directly through said outlet, means for moving the carrier towards the outlet and a driving connection between said carrier moving means and said dispensing wheel, said driving connection permitting actuation of the dispensing wheel independently of the elevator to permit complete withdrawal of the papers without further movement of the elevator.

11. In a newspaper vending machine, a casing having an outlet, a pair of revolvable screws, a paper carrier mounted upon said revolvable screws, a shaft having driving engagement with said screws for actuating same to move the carrier toward said outlet, a second shaft arranged parallel with said first shaft and having dispensing means in the path of movement of the papers to engage the papers as same are moved toward the outlet by the carrier, said dispensing means being operable to remove the papers from the carrier and deliver same directly through said outlet, and a driving connection between said screw actuating shaft and said dispensing means.

12. In a newspaper vending machine, a casing having an outlet, a pair of revolvable screws, 21 paper carrier mounted upon said revolvable screws, a shaft having driving engagement with said screws for actuating same to move the carrier toward said outlet, a second shaft arranged parallel with said first shaft and having dispensing means in the path of movement of the papers to engage the papers as same are moved toward the outlet by the carrier, a sprocket wheel driven by said first shaft, a sprocket wheel on said second shaft, a third sprocket. wheel, and a driving chain trained over said second and third sprockets and in driving engagement with said first sprocket to transmit the driving effort of said first shaft to the dispensing means, said dispensing means removing the paper from the carrier and delivering same directly through said outlet.

13. In a newspaper vending machine, a casing having an outlet, a pair of revolvable screws, a paper carrier mounted upon said revolvable screws, a shaft having driving engagement with said screws for actuating same to move the carrier toward said outlet, a second shaft arranged parallel with said first shaft and having dispensing means in the path of movement of the papers to engage the papers as same are moved toward the outlet by the carrier, said dispensing means being operable to remove the papers from the carrier and deliver same directly through said outlet, and a driving connection between said screw actuating shaft and said dispensing means, said drivin g connection feeding the uppermost paper through the outlet simultaneously with the movement of the carrier toward the outlet and permitting actuation of the dispensing means independently of the carrier to permit complete withdrawal of the paper without actuating the carrier.

In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 15th day of November, A. D.

ORVILLE MARKEL. 

